Monday, August 11, 2014

Surrogacy Gone Wrong? – Thailand Surrogacy

Gammy, a six month old baby, who suffers from Down syndrome, a lung infection and a congenital heart disease, has found himself in the care of his surrogate mother in Thailand after being abandoned by his biological parents. Allegedly, Gammy’s biological parents deliberately left the six-month-old behind but took the healthy twin sister with them.

The couple in question reportedly pressurized the surrogate into aborting the infant while still in the womb as the baby’s condition became known to them four months after implantation in the surrogate. However, the surrogate reveals that she refused abortion as this was against her Buddhist beliefs.

The surrogate mother, who also has three children of her own, has taken Gammy under her care. Upon contacting the accused couple, they said that they never knew about Gammy and were only told about the healthy twin.

Baby Gammy’s case has received international attention because of the furore caused due to the concerns surrounding surrogacy. Surrogate mothers are common in nations such as Thailand, India and Africa due to the payment involved. The laws concerning surrogacy are not very strong and hence the situation in such cases becomes ambiguous.

Upon a background check of the parents, it was revealed that the father has been previously involved in the sexual assault of several young girls. But the man’s son issued a statement saying that he was now a good man who has changed.

The social services in Australia are trying to get in touch with the couple to make further arrangements for baby Gammy, who for the time being remains with the surrogate mother who appears to be happy to be with Gammy.